Greetings Everyone,I recently embarked on a journey for Yoga Teacher Training(YTT) at Southwest Institute of Healing Arts. I decided to pursue this because I truly want to deepen my understanding of the human body and deepen my own practice of yoga. I decided to parlay this as part of my continuing education in Massage Therapy program as this is my specialty for the Master Massage Program. The MT1000 program is a one thousand hour massage program. I fell in love with bodywork in 2004. I enjoyed witnessing how the tissue would melt under my hand and patterns of restriction would be released. The end result would be the person felt better and lighter. Because of my massage education and love for bodywork, I decided it was time to deepen my yoga practice and learn more about my own body and its restrictions/limitations. To me, this is an important foundation for anyone in the bodywork field.I only started practicing yoga three years ago. I was fascinated by the changes in my body and my experiences as I felt my once tight hamstrings finally release to allow me to finally forward fold. I also felt a shift in my own consciousness and state of being. Interestingly enough, this prompted me to start learning more and deepen my knowledge of bodywork. This is quite interesting in and of itself because my education in bodywork and love for yoga led me to delve into Yoga Teacher Traning. I find amazement in the interconnectedness of my journey.

I was filled with excitement and trepidation at the beginning of my YTT program. That trepidation is now replaced with introspection and gratitude. I am grateful that my body is showing me that I need to be more present.While I attempted to take on this endeavor with an open mind and zero expecation, I felt very comfortable and confident in my poses. It wasn't long before that confidence was replaced by humility. While I thought I had body awareness and always felt a sense of groundedness, I had no idea I would have to face the fact that I have serious restrictions and for now, I am unable to perform certain postures. This is a hard pill to swallow.For the first time, I am really bringing consciousness to my body. I am learning that I have to honor whre I am in the moment and be grateful. Because of my intense education and work schedule in the last couple of years, I had to forge ahead and put on emotional blinders so I could trek through a full-time work and school schedule. There was no time for dealing with the really deep stuff that collected in my tissues over the years. I knew whatever traumas and emotional baggage that would come up it would be a very deep and uncomfortable experience.

While I am forced to really experience and be in my body, feelings of depression, sadness and grief have been coming up for me. While these aren't pleasant emotions, I am grateful for them comining up and my body has now my attention. I am able to deal with these emotions and I know they are only fleeting and "this too shall pass".... The very fact I am attending to these uncomfortable emotions, they have space to heal and move through my system. Yoga is really forcing me to be present in my body and create space for profound healing. Another humbling aspect of YTT is knowing that I have been doing some of the postures incorrectly! I'm glad I am doing YTT after only having a three-year practice so I can learn proper alignment early on. Proper alignment is what prevents injury and yoga is not about injury!I look forward to becoming the best version of myself and learning more about my entire being. I am blessed to have such an opportunity and am enjoying the wonderful people I am meeting in my journey!Namaste,JoAnn

Author

JoAnn Clinton

JoAnn Clinton has been intrigued with biology ever since she can remember. She's been touching bodies and lives since she became a Reiki Master Teacher in 2004. This desire to help others in a profound way led her to an amazing journey to other countries to learn about other wellness-promoting techniques. It wasn't until 2010 that JoAnn discovered Craniosacral rather, craniosacral discovered her. She completed the Cranial Unwinding program at SWIHA where she received her Certificate of Excellence and underwent extensive training through The Upledger Institute.

JoAnn completed 750 hours of massage therapy training and received her diploma at Southwest Institute of Healing Arts in Tempe, AZ. She continues to continue her bodywork education and considers herself a lifelong learner in the healing arts.